u* = √uv: The Full-Employment Rate of Unemployment in the United States

This paper argues that in the United States the full-employment rate of unemployment (FERU) is the geometric average of the unemployment and vacancy rates. Between 1930 and 2024, the FERU averages 4.1% and is very stable.

September 2024 · Pascal Michaillat, Emmanuel Saez

Unemployment

This course presents a matching model of unemployment. It uses the model to study unemployment fluctuations; job rationing; efficient unemployment and unemployment gap; and labor market policies such as minimum wage, public employment, and unemployment insurance.

August 2024 · Pascal Michaillat

A Macroeconomic Approach to Optimal Unemployment Insurance: Applications

This paper explores how the optimal generosity of unemployment insurance varies over the business cycle in the United States. It finds that the optimal replacement rate is countercyclical, just like the actual replacement rate.

May 2018 · Camille Landais, Pascal Michaillat, Emmanuel Saez

Aggregate Demand, Idle Time, and Unemployment

This paper develops a model of unemployment fluctuations. The innovation is to represent the labor and product markets with a matching structure. The model simultaneously features Keynesian unemployment, classical unemployment, and frictional unemployment.

May 2015 · Pascal Michaillat, Emmanuel Saez